Experience with original clutch V6

[wolme]

Hi everybody there up north. Have not been here for a while but am about to change this.

Here in Austria I am a rather lonely EXIGE V 6 owner ( it is a rather exotic car over here and hard to get advice , let alone getting service - for my first service I went to KOMOTEC - 650 km one way ).

Now can anybody tell me what the average life span of an original clutch with the odd track day ( 2 so far in Hungary in 1 and a half years since getting the car delivered) and now 15000 km on the clock could be. Since I heard a comment here and there the clutch being not the strongest part in the V6 I am thinking of getting a sinter clutch and Alu flywheel from KOMOTEC  not really knowing whether it makes sense already. Had the odd occasion where the clutch gets smelling a little when engaging it starting off a little crispier. Also heard it is quite a job reg. labour getting the clutch an flywheel changed. does anyone have any experience or advice -  Thanks in advance  -  Wolfie

[Neal H]

Some early cars seemed to suffer form clutch problems and were changed under warranty. I think there were some instances of (very) premature failure, but most were replaced because they were excessively noisy. I'm not aware of anyone that has needed to change a clutch yet outside of warranty, but so far there doesn't seem to be any big mileage Exiges!

I don't think there's any reason to believe that the cutches fail prematurely, but given the nature of the car, they are obviously likely to be subjected to harsher use than on a more normal car. I assume it's the same clutch as used in the Evora, which seems to last okay. I think the main complaint is the cost of replacing it when it does eventually fail - circa £3k on an Evora in the UK. It's probably fair to assume that the cost on an Exige would be similar.

I'd wait for the original to show signs of failure before fitting an upgrade

[wolme]

Hi Neal - thanks for your reply. My car was built spring 2014 so it should hopefully not suffer from the early  clutch problems you mentioned. Although The clutch is a bit noisy when engaged  in idle or just above - Sounds like a bearing - it stops when you disengage it. At the shop they tell me just to watch it - I hope watching it is enough - I would hate to get stuck somewhere in Italy or so some 500 miles from home with no Lotus dealership anywhere near.

Thanks again for your comment   -  have a nice day- Wolfie

[dixie v6]

I think the noise you hear when engaged is the light flywheel,it's normal I think....

[wolme]

Dixie - must be a misunderstanding - I am still using the original flywheel and clutch . I am just considering the KT one. Thanks though. Wolfie

[dixie v6]

I think the original flywheel is a light one or am I wrong ? 

[wolme]

No. Not The Original one. The Komotec would be The light Alu one. Weighs only a fraction of the original.

[dixie v6]

Didn't know that , I thought the stock one was a lightweight one because my Exige also rattles at idle when clutch is engaged...

[Edwin Chan]

On 22 January 2016 at 19:56, dixie v6 said:

Didn't know that , I thought the stock one was a lightweight one because my Exige also rattles at idle when clutch is engaged...

My 2014 Exige also rattles at idle when engaged, I can hear the noise from the outside of the engine bay at times. Spoken to the local dealer apparently is likely to be common clutch bearing issue (torlarence issue) but said if I get them to open the box up and found the clutch is burnt then I risk the replacement cost will not be covered by warranty.  They did confirm that it will not cause major failure and even after replacement the noise will come back anyway.(in other words live with it). If the system fail one day I might try an after market clutch system.

Edited January 23, 2016 by Edwin Chan

[JAWS]

On 22/01/2016 at 07:12, wolme said:

No. Not The Original one. The Komotec would be The light Alu one. Weighs only a fraction of the original.

If you go for an even lighter flywheel you'll probably find there'll be more transmission noise. You could upgrade to the Evora 400 set up. However, the Evora has a lot more NVH so again; transmission noise may increase in your Exige.

[wolme]

On ‎22‎/‎01‎/‎2016 at 09:56, dixie v6 said:

Didn't know that , I thought the stock one was a lightweight one because my Exige also rattles at idle when clutch is engaged...

Hi Dixie - Theo Komotec flywheel and clutch only weighs 2,45 kg to their specs but they also say that transmission noise will increase. Good to hear that yours also rattles - I thought there was something wrong with mine.

[wolme]

7 hours ago, Edwin Chan said:

My 2014 Exige also rattles at idle when engaged, I can hear the noise from the outside of the engine bay at times. Spoken to the local dealer apparently is likely to be common clutch bearing issue (torlarence issue) but said if I get them to open the box up and found the clutch is burnt then I risk the replacement cost will not be covered by warranty.  They did confirm that it will not cause major failure and even after replacement the noise will come back anyway.(in other words live with it). If the system fail one day I might try an after market clutch system.

Dixie has the same noise - you made the same experience so I feel in good company and just try not to listen that closely anymore. I also think I just wait for the clutch to weaken and then go for the KT setup because the costs just for labour apparently are around 3000 BP.

5 hours ago, JAWS said:

If you go for an even lighter flywheel you'll probably find there'll be more transmission noise. You could upgrade to the Evora 400 set up. However, the Evora has a lot more NVH so again; transmission noise may increase in your Exige.

You are right -that's what KT says - I will just wait and see since the costs for labour are tremendous and as long as its not necessary I will just hang on and then go for that KT setup.

[Edwin Chan]

Though the bearing/clutch issue is recognised amongst owners and dealers from Evora till now the Exige as a common problem there is still no solution from Lotus to rectify this problem, even for cars under warranty.

[Fortis]

I might be talking a load of crap here , but I am sure that I read a post stating that it was a problem with a faulty batch of clutch plates.

Problem with the springs being loose within the friction plate, or just a myth.